Sutil finishes third fastest

Yesterday, Fisichella, behind the wheels of the VJM01, completed 79 laps and registered the fastest lap timing of 1min 19.721s ahead of Rubens Barrichello 1 min 18.928s.

These timings were a marked improvement from the team8217;s previous fastest lap round in Barcelona this year 8212; a 1 min 22.233 set by Giancarlo in February. The circuit will host the fourth Grand Prix of the season on April 27 and the strong show here would boost the Vijay Mallya-owned team8217;s morale.

Quite at home behind the wheels, Fisichella said: 8220;The car went much better this time out than the last time we tested in Barcelona, which you can see in the considerable improvement in our lap times. This is largely due to the new parts we have introduced since the start of the season and the last time we were here.

8220;I tested the new 2009 slick tyres 8212; which was the reason for my fastest lap 8212; but we were also much quicker on 2008 grooved rubber too. The best lap we did here in February was a 1min 22.3 and now we are at 1min 20.7, we8217;re really moving forward,8221; said the Italian.